Hardly exciting: Prisoner of War

During the first part of the Second World War some 90,000 British soldiers and civilians were taken prisoner by the German and Italian armies. In an attempt to calm the natural anxiety of  family members the government produced a pamphlet explaining what being a POW actually meant in practice. I have been given an original copy of the pamphlet and it makes interesting reading. It was published in January 1942 sometime before the horrors of detention camps became known. The style of the pamphlet is purposely reassuring. The first page has a map showing the location of prisoner of war camps across occupied Europe (not that relatives could just pop over the channel and visit their loved ones). Top of the list is Colditz. The pamphlet includes a number of black and white photographs showing healthy looking men at work, in one they overlooked by a Nazi guard as they peel potatoes. In another men are working in the fields of 'sunny Italy'. From the photographs the camps look more akin the Butlins holiday resorts these soldiers might have visited in the 1930s. Even cricket matches were played, although for some reason - not immediately obvious - the Germans banned the traditional leather cricket ball. Camp theatrical groups and concert parties are pictured; the pamphlets requests donations of games and books to help the men pass the long hours. The publication does suggest that prisoners will have an opportunity to educate themselves through wider reading than might normally be the case.

It is understandable that the government should wish to calm the fears that relatives were having about their loved ones held in prisoner of war camps. To us it seems like a blatant piece of propaganda, but those were desperate times. In 1942 the tide of war had not yet turned and for those prisoners held against their will there seemed to prospect of returning to their homes. Read carefully, the pamphlet does contain clues as to the real state of some held in these camps. It mentions the depression suffered by detainees, in addition it asks that members of the public contribute in any way they can to provide parcels to the prisoners of war. They were not allowed to address parcels individually, but the Red Cross listed items that would be of use in the camps, including books, games, sports gear, and food of all kinds. Tobacco and cigarettes were highly prized items for the red cross parcels. They were transported via Spain, across France. and hence to Germany and Italy. As the tide of war turned against Germany it became more difficult for the parcels to reach the prisoners and their lives became more difficult. The pamphlet does not concern itself with Japanese prisoners of war as the conflict in that part of the world was still in its infancy.